Lollipop // Richie Tozier x OC ( IT 2017 )

Who's Calling? Pt. 2 (Chapter 5)

 9:00 

The alarm clock appeared dark against the bright summer sun streaming into the windows of Lolly's bedroom. Lolly's last night's smile was replaced with jitters; she hated to admit it, but she was nervous. So nervous. 

What if they don't like me? 

Being friend-less for so long had taken a toll on Lolly's self-esteem. It was hard avoiding Greta every day at school; Greta hated Lolly Gellar like fire. Girls like Greta didn't understand how they could have everything and still have to fight for something as trivial as beauty against girls like Lolly, girls like Beverley Marsh. Girls with parents that both had to work to make ends meet. The ones who sat alone and yet still had the eyes of the neighborhood boys on them at all times. Avoiding Greta was hard enough, facing Henry Bowers' gang alone was harder, but the hardest of everything was just simply being alone. Not having anyone to sit next to during lunch, to share homework with or to whisper to during assemblies. Lolly really didn't want to lose the chance she had at real friends. 

Fuzzy pink carpet moved under Lolly's feet as she moved to the bathroom to get ready for her day. Yesterday she'd imagined bruises on her skin in this room, and the voice of Henry Bowers; since then the room held an eerieness to it. Lolly prepared herself for a jumpscare like you would at a movie theatre: she walked slowly with her hands over her eyes when she entered, but all that was there was a bathroom. Pale blue wallpaper, tiled floor, white towels and a frosted glass door on the shower. 

"I must be going crazy," Lolly told herself this, but she was pretty sure she'd heard a laugh coming up from the shower drain. 

After a shower, her dark hair hung down her back like a curtain while she examined the leftover yellowing on her neck from her encounter with Henry on the last day of school. The hickey wasn't painful to touch, but every time she looked she felt like the wind was knocked out of her stomach. Henry had never touched her before, not like that. Pushes in the halls, and jabs in the back were okay, Lolly could deal with those, but she hated this romance business. She couldn't forget Henry's, "You belong to me," she was sure that Henry didn't care about her whatsoever but, he knew he scared her. He knew she didn't want to date him or be with him, or whatever, but that's what he wants. He wants people to run when they see him coming, and he wants to make them uncomfortable as possible. It just so happened that Lolly accidentally gave away what terrified her most of all. 

"People don't belong to people," is what she kept telling herself, but when it came down to it, could she outrun Henry Bowers? Could she protect herself? What about her new friends, would they ditch her when they found out Henry had it out for her too?

11:20 

Bill would be at Lolly's house soon to walk her to the movie theatre.

After shaking the leftover dampness from her hair, Lolly pulled on a plain green t-shirt and a pair of light blue Levi's shorts. She slid a flower headband over her hair to add a little something special to the casual outfit. 

A shrill roar floated from the kitchen, the telephone. 
Picking up the phone Lolly spoke into it, "Hello?" 
"I don't have time for games Louise," A male voice spit the words out with anger from the line of the phone. 
"What?" Lolly's heartbeat quickened
"Do you like scary movies, Louise?" 
"I-I guess? Who is this?" 
"You'll know when you see me Louise, you'll know who I am, and so will all of your friends!" The voice screamed, "We all float down here, we'll all float together! You'll never have to be alone again! You, me, Buh-buh-Bill, sweet little Richie, and Henry, Henry too!

HA

HA

HA"

"Listen, I don't know who the fuh-fuck you think you are-"
"Your Daddy doesn't like it when you swear Louise," the voice cut her off, "It's not lady-like!"
"Listen!" She screamed into the phone, 

A little tap came from the front door, "Luh-lolly? Are you al-ruh-ruh-right?".
Bill Denbrough was on the other side of Lolly's door, he could hear her panicked yelling from outside. Her adult neighbours continued mowing their lawns, and reading their novels as if they couldn't hear a thing.  
"Are yuh-you okay in there?" 
A panicked Lolly yelled at him to come inside.

Bill stepped inside her home, even though they lived in the same neighbourhood the insides of their homes were completely different. Bill's parents had a television set in front of their couches, and a big pair of french doors. Lolly's house looked smaller, and was sparse for furniture in comparison. It cast the impression that perhaps their house in the neighbourhood was more of a ruse to demonstrate wealth, than having actually acquired anything. 

"I'm in the kitchen!" She yelled again, "Who is this?" She yelled louder this time, but it wasn't directed toward Bill. She was screeching into the phone again. 

Bill wandered a little bit aimlessly, not having any idea where the kitchen was. He poked his head in a white wooden door, and saw Lolly in short-shorts yelling into a cordless telephone.

An earsplitting laugh echoed out of the phone's receiver,

"HA HA HA"

Lolly slammed the phone down on the receiver, causing the table it sat on to vibrate with anger. 
Her body heaved a sigh, but not of relief, of fear. Her eyes stayed focused down on the floor and for a second, Bill thought she was going to upchuck onto the cold linoleum. Slowly, she lifted her head and flashed Bill a weak smile.

"I guess it was a prank call?" Her voice was so slow Bill had to move closer to hear her, "I'm really glad you showed up....It was starting to get weird." 
Bill walked over to her and put a hand on her back, he didn't say a thing but his comforting hand moving up and down on her back put the air back into Lolly's lungs. 
Lolly wrapped her arms around Bill's thin frame, he stood a few inches taller than Lolly and she felt safe in her friend's arms. Bill couldn't help but being acutely aware of everything he was doing; there was a girl in his arms, a pretty girl. He continued to rub his hand up her back, and when he took in a breath he smelled the citrus sweetness of her hair. 

"Thanks Bill," Lolly pulled away and smiled at him, "I don't know really what happened, it was just really...." she trailed off for a second, "Things don't usually get me going like that, I promise I'm not a drama queen or anything,"
"It's uh-uh-okay, it sounded pretty suh-scary." He removed his hands from her, "But, if you're still feeling up to the muh-move, we suh-should probably guh-go." 

Lolly nodded and followed Bill out the front doors of her house; something about her home was starting to feel.. wrong.